Morocco Economy to Grow Faster Than Expected

Morocco’s Economy Minister Mohamed Boussaid announced in Rabat that economy output growth forecasts were revised upwards from 3.2 to 3.6% for 2018 due to the good performance of non-agricultural sectors and a good crop year exceeding 10 million tons, Morocco Worldnews reported. Boussaid, who gave a presentation at the government council on the results of the 2018 appropriation bill and the prospects for the 2019 appropriation bill, reviewed the main economic indicators that showed a continuous improvement in the global economic growth outlook. Similarly, BMI Research predicted a rate of GDP growth at 3.5% in Morocco in 2018. However, this improvement is still threatened by protectionist conflicts, monetary austerity policies, and the volatility of oil prices, he added. At the national level, Boussaid underlined notable acceleration in the growth of non-agricultural activities, due to the good performance of all sectors, with the exception of civil engineering. The fisheries and phosphates sectors recorded an increase of 5.7% and 6.4% respectively in the first half of 2018, he said. Tourism increased by 11.8%. Bank loans increased slightly by MAD 2.4 billion ($256.6 million) in the five-month period, while inflation stood at 2.4%, he said.